HD 5670 Flickering

[bigbob1122]

Lately I've been having a few issues with my computer. When I start playing a game(such as GTA IV) I start getting this weird flickering all over my screen. After maybe 5-10 minutes the flickering covers the whole screen and eventually the whole computer freezes up with the screen completely distorted and the audio from the game looping. I then have to force a restart because it won't go anywhere. When I restart the computer everything is fine until I start playing a game again in which case the process repeats. I haven't changed anything with my setup; it's been the same for about a year and a half now.

I upgraded my drivers but that didn't fix anything. I downloaded "FurMark" which is supposed to push the video card and give me temp/use specs. Using this I was able to see that my card idles around 65-68 degrees C and under heavy use my card goes up to 106 degrees C at which point the flickering problem starts.

I also downloaded CoreTemp but for some reason it doesn't show anything as far as temperature is concerned for my CPU. It only shows CPU load.

What could the problem be? I'm guessing that something is overheating since the problem only occurs under load but I'm not sure if it's the video card or my CPU because when the flickering occurs both are under heavy load. I last cleaned the dust out of my PC about 6 months ago.

Here's my specs:
Dell Dimension E510
Windows XP
3GB RAM
3.2Ghz Pentium D
ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB

I know these specs aren't the best but the games I play(NFS, Left 4 Dead, GTA IV) all work fine on it. Well, up until yesterday.

 

[Xttony]

65-68c under idling is too much, try to replace the thermal paste on the GPU or put a GPU cooler. If you are replacing thermal paste remember that, if used less than required then the temperature won't conduct properly and if used too much it will conduct the temperature where it shouldnot.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

the gpu temps is too high when in full load....try replacing the thermal paste as @ Xttony said....also clean out the dust thoroughly from your pc and and fans and ensure that they are working properly

 

[siddharthmukul007]

also remember gta4 requires a lot of vram, 1GB is just not enough

 

[Xttony]

also remember gta4 requires a lot of vram, 1GB is just not enough

I ram GTA IV on my HD 4850 with 512MB of DDR3 video ram at max settings on 1080p.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

are you sure?
what was your fps during the gameplay?

 

[bigbob1122]

I was under the impression that GTA IV was more CPU intensive than GPU intensive. It was running fine until the flickering problem started. Either way I'll go ahead and clean everything out. Is it possible to add an additional fan somewhere in my case to help cool the GPU?

 

[siddharthmukul007]

for that you need to make some changes manually to your cabinet and put some extra fans to see if that works.
you can also purchase an aftermarket gpu cooler.

 

[Xttony]

are you sure?
what was your fps during the gameplay?

30-40fps the only game that I had problem playing was Max Payne 3 at high cause it has this memory scale in the boom of the video settings page that won't let me.
Played most games at high or very high/ultra until I bought the 7970. But I still this card to test games and it handles pretty well.

 

[Xttony]

I was under the impression that GTA IV was more CPU intensive than GPU intensive. It was running fine until the flickering problem started. Either way I'll go ahead and clean everything out. Is it possible to add an additional fan somewhere in my case to help cool the GPU?

Buy a high air flow fan (higher wattage) from the market and place it under the cabinet. There should be places to instal the fan at the bottom of your cabinet if not just make one just beneath the gpu fan so the new fan could flow cool air from outside directly to the gpu cooler. External gpu coolers can be expensive. You have the options to select either liquid cooling or the normal air cooling. The liquid coolers are expensive but do a decent job to keep the temperatures low but are expensive than air coolers.

Either way I don't think that your card can handle GTA IV at max settings no matter what you try. Even overclocking won't help here. So it is better to buy a new card sone coolers come more than $100if you add a little more money tou can get a new graphics card for that price.

 

[bigbob1122]

Well, I'm not going to buy a new card. I've only had this one for about a year now. Like I said, it's been running GTA IV and other games with no problems. I'm not playing it at maxxed out settings. Everything is probably about half way and I have no problems getting 30-40fps.

 

[Xttony]

Better then get the thermal paste replaced. Your card can handle high temperatures but it is better to keep it under 100 degree C

 

[gamerx357]

Hello, BuB.

Sounds like you have a heat issue with your gpu.

Here are my suggestions: Only if you possess the skills.
1. Remove gfx card from case.
2. Remove the gpu fan.
3. Remove gpu heatsink.
4. Clean gpu fan by compressed air [best method]. However, hot high pressure water will do but you must allow fan to dry thoroughly afterwards.
5. Spin fanblades and inspect ball bearings for excessive wear. If fan is wobbly ball bearings are bad and need replacing. Better to buy a new higher rpm gpu fan, their really cheap on ebay. Just make sure the replacement has the same connectors. If fan is ok, just grease/oil the bearings and set aside in clean/dry area until all steps are complete.
6. Clean gpu heatsink same as fan. Includes removing thermal paste completely.
7. Clean GPU same as heatsink. Only dry cleaning cloth to remove remainder of thermal paste from GPU. No fluids should come in contact with card unless approved by card manufacturer.
8.I don't have to tell you to already have fresh thermal paste ready before step 1 do I. If so, "Stop", go no futher put all dissassembled parts away in clean dry place and get some asap.
9. Reassemble in reverse order.
10. Afterwards, it would'nt hurt to impliment a few of the other suggested case mods. These steps insure speedy reassembly. Just remember to take your time.
Good Luck